Entries in PS4
(46)

o matter what your standpoint on the matter is, it’s a fact that’s commonly accepted by a majority of modern society; violence is a part of life. Now when it comes to how people come to terms with this is an entirely different story, but I always found the concept of depictions that revel in graphically glorifying it as a point of illustration to be interesting; especially when it worked.

The argument on whether or not the gory aggression worked for Hotline Miami 2 though is a bit muddled, because when it works—it works.

And when it doesn’t, the title rings a bit hollow with a reverberation of pretension.

t’s safe to say that gaming is continually reaching new levels of spectacle and showmanship, and that next plateau of tech is never too far out of reach as the medium advances; it’s just too bad that the medium has a ways to go when it comes to expanding upon new concepts and ideas that are afforded by the advancement.

Ready At Dawn’s The Order: 1886 is a perfect example of how to squander such an opportunity—a technical achievement in presentation and production that’s sadly held back by an antiquated sense of design.

I’m fully aware of just how harsh that opening statement sounded, but that’s the take away that this PlayStation 4 exclusive left me with, and it didn’t take long before I came to it either.

This may sound cliché, but The Order’s greatest strength also happens to be its biggest weakness; the cinematic direction of its pacing and world—a trade-off that just isn’t worth it.

hroughout the wreckage and calamity (see what I did there?) of Cloudbank, bears the stance of one woman, and her indignant sense of duty to right the wrongs of all the injustice that’s befallen her fair city and life.

Listen, it’s no secret, we love Super Giant Games’ sophomore release, Transistor, and while we’ve already reviewed, and talked about it at great lengths on the show, we figure we’d go one step further in showcasing our admiration for 2014’s indie darling in yet another edition of Press Pause Radio’s Play Play.

he concept of royalty truly is a fascinating distinction within humanity’s self-imposed hierarchy over the years. The prestige and responsibility it demands is a balance of finesse and leadership that’s equally important to both sides of the crown—even when that crown might rest upon the head of a self-absorbed, entitled narcissist.

Enter Chariot; a grand mission of tribute to the fallen king, undertaken by his two most loyal retainers, as they drag and push their majesty’s wagon-eered coffin, towards the perfect resting ground for burial so that the matriarch may finally move on to the afterlife.

While the whole thing may sound like a glorified escort mission at first impression, the reality is a delightfully heartwarming test of wits and resilience against the law of physics against a lump on wheels that’s essentially an out-of-body extension of you and your buddy’s skills and abilities—with an added test of friendship thrown in for good measure.

hen it comes to licensed properties, it’s safe to say that video game adaptions have come a long way since the dark ages of the LJN published trash all those years ago.

I mean, there’s Telltale’s work on the Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, Warner Bros’ Shadows of Mordor and Batman Arkham Knight, and lest we not forget; Ubisoft’s swan dive to publish the unexpectedly amazing South Park: The Stick of Truth…I could go on. The point I’m making here is that license games are steadily scrubbing away the nasty stigma that’s plagued them for so long, and it’s really nice.

However, there’s are still the occasional exceptions to the recent trend, ones that falls victim to all those familiar offenses that irrevocably render their once promising future as a video game into nothing more than a hot bag of shit that even a purist fan of the property couldn’t love.

In a painful twist of fate though, the software in question that’s guilty of all these cardinal sins may also just be one of the most unexpected disappointments to have surfaced in 2014 to begin with. Renowned for their exemplary work within the Action genre, Platinum Games were handed the reins to Nickelodeon’s Legend of Korra; and in spite of all of the resources, talent, and enmities the famed Japanese team had at their disposal—the finished product they’ve released may easily just be the worst title the studio has ever developed.

t’s strange just how infrequent this particular passing trend has fluctuated within the last two decades of modern pop-culture—the fad I’m talking about here is the vulgar, off-color, wildly gross and trashy gore-porn art style that’s swept the new age of cartoons and animation. Whether it was John K’s Ren and Stimpy or MTV’s The Head, the 90’s pioneered an interest into all things crass and disgusting, and even though the direction has been hit or miss as the years have gone by, one particular video game visionary has taken this niche and ran with it.

Off the heels of Super Meat Boy, revered indie darling Edmund McMillen unleased his liberal adaption of one of the most infamous passing’s from ancient biblical scripture, and much to the same vein, it was grueling spin on the rogue-like formula. While it possessed a degree of his trademark charm and style, The Binding of Isaac was ultimately, a rough mess that was held back from too many issues that kept it from going the same kind of distance that its platforming counterpart did.

Three years later though, and it would appear that Headup Games has given its controversial property a second wind, and whether or not this may potentially be your second field trip to the unholy depths of Isaac’s basement—The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth does everything a rerelease should do. In fact, it’s easily the most definitive means of experiencing the strange madness it has to that this top-down dungeon crawler has to offer.

emember when Assassin’s Creed was marketed towards the thrill of eliminating your foes from the shadows? Sneaking to every target, stealthily moving around as if you were invisible to the naked eye, allowing your enemies only a second of reaction to your presence before it was too late for them to do anything about it—yeah, after seven years running, that shit is practically gone now.

Honestly, aside from the exception of Ground Zeroes, third-person stealth affairs are barely even a thing in games now, but before all hope of finding that great new game of “killing them softly” was lost, along came a little title by the name of Styx: Master of Shadows.

Now, mind you, the last time I loaded in software that was developed by Cyanide Studio, it was that licensed Game of Thrones game back in 2012; so yeah, my hopes were significantly tempered at first impression. It wasn’t long until after I metastasized a gross little clone doppelganger of myself, only so that I could send it running off, distracting all the meddlesome guards in my way as a decoy, that I realized, second chances are real, and this Next-Gen stealth adventure is living proof.

here’s been plenty of buzz aimed at Ready At Dawn’s upcoming PS4 exclusive, The Order: 1886, and considering the debut it made last year, the hype is more than understandable. However, hype is one thing though, and impressions are another—so color me impressed; The Order: 1886 is geared in the right direction, and has all the makings to reset the standard for third-person shooting for the better.